How To Enable The New Hangouts In Gmail, Right Now

Google, at the I/O Developer conference on Wednesday announced that Hangout will be rolling out to Gmail users gradually. For those of you who cannot wait to try out Hangouts right now, then there's a way to gain early access to this new offering of Google.

Hangouts will eventually replace Google Talk, and extends across all services except Google Voice. Think of Hangouts as a next wave of communication offered by Google, as it helps user not to just chat, but also send photos, emojis and do video calls for free. And the best of all, even if the user is not online, they will be notified on their phone or PC about your message right away. Recently, we have also covered the news that Google is bringing SMS integration to Hangouts soon. Check it out.

How to Enable Hangouts in Gmail

Login to your Gmail account and sign-in to Google Talk. Now, click on the thumbnail associated with your account from the sidebar and click on “Try the new Hangouts” option.

Gmail will now reload the page, and you'll be able to see three pop-up notifications giving you more information on Hangouts and how they are useful. Just click on Next and you'll be up and running the new Hangouts within no time.

However, the only issue that you will face now is that you won't be able to see Gmail's phone dialer. The upgrade removes Google's VoIP service. Fortunately, switching back to old chat is very easy. Just click on your name and then on “Revert to old chat” from the dropdown.

Go ahead, and enjoy the new Hangouts before everyone else does! Do let us know what you think about this new Hangouts in the comments section below.

About the author

Saqib is a technology writer, contributing news and how-to's. He thinks tech all the time, even when dreaming. Besides writing on ValueWalk, he also writes on Technostarry. You can reach him via Twitter.